Dark Stars
by Fossick
Summary: Set in a scifi fantasty era a band of defenders join and begin to use their unique elemental powers to fight evil invaders that are part machine, animal, and human. The first book describes the Elemental defenders, and how they gained their powers.
1. Prologue

It was the beginning of a peculiar time.

Many things hid the destiny of eventual change, when the living things of the universe sported the potential for greatness. 

In this time there was a certain darkness, all but unknown to the inhabitants of the eight planets in the main solar system of the galaxy. An atmosphere floated through the lives of the clueless citizens that promised a heroism, the likes of which had never been seen before. The darkness was coming, but it also faced the chance of elimination.

There were 8 planets total: Plutonar, Xion, Mareon, Sagas, Zerth, Rantek, Karmemnon, and GXB-5000. Not an unthinkable number of planets, but they, like their names were unique, each containing a different quality. Where in a normal solar system the planets would orbit a sun, these orbited another planet. It was considered a sun, nearly 100,000 times any of the other planets' sizes, the unknown source of light never fading from the black of space. The technology and economic prosperity of each of the planets, emanating from the life that the center planet seemed to give off, did not fade easily, and for hundreds of years there was peace. Of course, there was a military force of some kind that was owned by the core planet, which was disciplined and well trained, but the fact that it had not been actively used in centuries had created a number of lay-back military commanders.

The citizens of each planet trusted the military force with their lives, but they failed to see what their best source of protection was. Each of the planets had been given a chance to defeat the darkness in their own way, using their own resources of course, but something else as well. Something that was only known to a few….

Long before any living person in the universe could remember, there was a guild created, a Council of Ten. They were wise, knowledgeable of old lore and almost every other matter. Living in the highest tower, in the very center of the core planet, they remained isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Many people would come to this part of the planet to talk to the Council of their problems, and the Council would tell them how to deal with the same. However this option of approaching a group of men so old and wise was not open to every person in the galaxy. In order to be permitted into their living space, a most serious problem had to avail them. Only in these dire situations did the council venture to give their peculiar and wondrous advice.

One fateful day came in these peaceful years when the dawn of a new and frightful age was imminent. A horrible, but wonderful discovery was made by the council on this day, which had been predicted since the beginning of their lives. On this day, the first of a line of heroes was found.


	2. Chapter 1

The first planet I shall tell you about is Plutonar. It is a cold and desolate place. An icy desert, supporting Barely any life at all. It is used as a prison to hold men and women who have done horrible crimes. Nobody can escape or survive on this harsh planet. Many convicts die. Nobody lives. It is a sad and barren planet.

Some wars took place here. Many men died and the rest were frozen. It is an icy doom. The temperature can go below 32,000 degrees. That is why there is no life there. Little life that has ever been recorded. But records can sometimes be very wrong.

All alone, in what appears to be a regular snow cave, there lives someone that no one has ever heard of on this planet before.

Long before any living person in the universe could remember, there was a guild created, a Council of Ten. They were wise, knowledgeable of old lore and almost every other matter. Living in the highest tower, in the very center of the core planet, they remained isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Many people would come to this part of the planet to talk to the Council of their problems, and the Council would tell them how to deal with the same. However this option of approaching a group of men so old and wise was not open to every person in the galaxy. In order to be permitted into their living space, a most serious problem had to avail them.

For now, let's talk about that seemingly regular cave, and go into the gloom that covered the cavernous entrance to the cave, past that darkness, past the stalagmites, past the stalactites, and all the icy tunnels, there seems to be a light. A white light, blinding all who look upon it, at least until the eyes that look upon it would get used to it. The light was shooting out from a circular room. A huge room, with ornaments hung up all around the wall that surrounded the room. They appeared to be trophies, and war medals that had been achieved years ago. The light seemed to be coming from everywhere and everything at once. It seemed to be coming from the very air, itself. Through the light one could see tunnels leading out of the room in every which direction. Leading to unknows passages of unknown destinations. 

Light is briliant everywhere, but in the center of the room, the light seems to be concentrated. On the floor in the center of the room one could see the figure of a man sitting crosslegged on the floor. His back is perfectly straight, his legs are in equal and perfect position. He breaths deeply inward and then outward. He is clad in what looks like armor, and yet looks like cloth. A mysterious clothing made of an unknown material and source. The light, which now seems to be a representation of his power reflects off his silvery hair that lightly brushes his shoulders. Around his perfectly still body are boulders the size of half a man. Eight to be exact. His arms rest across his knees, letting his hands dangle off them. Once again he breaths, his eyes are closed. He breaths even deeper than before. Judging by his stern face, which seems to have been smoothly cut out of stone, one might say that he looks as if he is remembering something. Perhaps remembering his past. He remembers. He remembers...before he was here...

"Well, if it isn't Homstar Tetra!" Homstar turned swiftly from studying his star-charts to see a familiar face. Before him stood a man with a huge smile, brown hair, and the soft features of a young boy. He looked to be no older than 21 years, and was wearing the standard uniform of his division of the Core Planet, Courusnath's, army. Hard white armor made of clasunor, the most durable, and yet most flexible material in this system. It was plain white except for around the shoulders and neck, where there were three markings. They were black, indicating that he was certainly of a higher rank than his colleagues. He was a captain. Part of the reason that Homstar noticed these markings was because he wore them himself, having risen in the ranks rather quickly, due to his superior combat and strategic skills.

"Kurtis Grantma!" Homstar answered happily. "It's wonderful to see you!" They both rushed forward to greet each other in a fierce hug, barely noticing the inquisitive stares from the people in their command who were walking past them on the busy ship bridge. Homstar stood for another moment, embracing his long lost friend, and then he remembered his rank. Both Homstar, and Kurtis broke free of the hug, but neither of their smiles. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the second division!" Homstar said.  
"I did, but then decided: What's a division between friends?"  
Homstar laughed momentarily, but ceased to do so when he saw further into what Kurtis was saying..   
"Kurtis…command allowed you to transfer just because of our friendship?"  
It took the other man a moment before he responded, looking away nervously. "Homstar, there's something else…." He looked back up, opened his mouth as if to speak, and closed it again, smiling. "It's alright, I'll tell you later…for now, I'm just happy to see you."  
"And I as well!"


	3. Chapter 2

Homstar and Kurtis go way back. They have been long time friends. They always look out for each other. Kurtis is a captian in his division and is an excellent designer. He designed weapons for his army and was noticed. From there he became an important factor in his divison, winning many battles for his men with his technological improvements. One of those battles was the battle for Rano, a moon of Plutonar, which is more populated than the actuall planet.

In this battle he fought alongside his buddy Homstar Tetra. In this battle Homstar saved Kurtis's life. Now I will bring you into this battle starting with the general's rally:

"Men and women you have come here to do what you were trained to do. Fight! Take back what is rightfully yours and drive these beasts back." "Ignore the cold and stand together!" " Show this creatures no mercy!" "Do they show you any!"  
Everyone shouted, "NO!"  
"So don't let these savages take Rano!" "Kill them and kill them all!" "Together fight and die well!" "Ahh!" The men ran into battle and came face to face with creatures only known as Yetis.

Homstar and Kurtis had a special platoon that would target the lead Yeti, Icanor. His platoon would go in silent and take the rear, kill Icanor, and attack the enemy from behind. They had to do this in freezing weather and with limited men and ammo. Homstar's men were the best of the best, the right men for the job. But something that day would go terribly wrong.

As the battle raged on, Homstar and his men moved into the cave or Icanor. Outside the battle was loud full or screams, roars, and gun shots. They had known that the entrance to the cave would be very well gaurded, so they had equipped themselvs beforehand with stealth equipment such as sound dampner belts, and camouflage belts. They slowly and quietly made their way into the cave. So far everything was going right.


	4. Chapter 3

Then a huge roar eminated from the front of the cave. A guardian Yeti had noticed Homstar as his platoon entered the cave. It ran towards them and gave another loud roar. The roar alerted Icanor, and a series of cries came from Icanor than Homstar knew were calls for rienforcements. His fellow Yetis came upon his men then, and ripped some of Homstar's men up. Homestar was pinned down! He couldn't do anything else so he rallied up what was left of his men and fought through 3 massive Yetis.

By the time Homstar and his men reached Icanor, he was furious and swung ferociously at the men, sending some flying. Homstar looked up from his battle with one of Icanor's elite guards, and to his horror saw Kurtis picked up off his feet by the giant Yetti Icanor himself! The Yeti slowly began to sqeeze, snarling up at the trapped man, and a painful cry came from Homstar's friend. Homstar, now determined to slay the Yeti before him so that he may get to his friend, doged two blows from the guard, rolled fluidly underneath a horisontal head swipe, and came up in a classic shooters stance having pulled his side arm from its holster. He fired a shot dead center into the chest of his opponent. The Yeti slumped to the floor, pitifuly uttering a roar.

Death was almost near Kurtis when Homstar drew his melee combat weapon.   
Actually his favorite weapon, Homstar always carried it with him. He was quite precise at dueling sword to sword, and hand to hand combat. He was so efficient with this weapon, that his friends nick-named it Steel-Ice. It's blade was constructed of steelanth, which was the strongest, and finest medal out there. However, in addition to being quite strong, it could easily be refined into whatever shape or sharpness that its owner desired. Only captains and up in rank were given this weapon due to cost.  
Homstar took a quick glance at his hand. He had felt something there. He was still holding his sword...but wait...something...something white, that looked remarkably like frost was traveling up his arm. No time to wonder what it was, he jumped on Icanor and stabbed him again and again. Icanor, in rage threw Kurtis and attacked Homstar.

Homstar slashed and stabbed at Icanor and wounded him badly, though this was not done without injury to himself. Icanor was quite ferocious. Suddenly, a loud crash reverberated through the cave. It must have been allied artillery. The shot startled Icanor he losed his footing, and was forced to fall backwards off a cliff. Homstar was alive, but was wounded and bleeding internly.

They had won the battle and killed almost all the Yetis. The survivers were fleeing Northward. But during that battle Icanor unleashed something in Homstar that was powerful and enraged. Something unstoppable and dangerous. He had no idea what it was. He glanced weakly down at the hand that held his sword. There was no white on it anymore. Not that he could see. He looked up and around at the survivors. Kurtis was alive. Good. Homstar Tetra slumped down, and his world turned black. 

The rest of the men who were still alive returned home to attend a special ceremony for his men and the general's army. Here something happened that would change Homstar's life forever.


	5. Chapter 4

The two best friends stood facing eachother for a moment remembering old times. A computer voice broke the silence: "Coming up on Courasnath." The toneless voice said.  
"Well, it looks like we had better get to our stations." Homstar said sadly.   
"Yes, I guess." Kurtis replied. As Homstar was turning away to leave, he felt something grab hold of his arm. He turned to see Kurtis.  
"Wait," he said hesitantly.  
"What is it?" Homstar asked with curiosity.  
"It's nothing, just that...that day back at the snow cave, I just...I never got to thank you for that." Kurtis said sheepishly.  
Homstar smiled warmly at him. "Alright, now get to your station."  
Kurtis grinned and headed off. Homstar stared after him, and then smiled and shook his head. It was the old Kurtis he knew, alright. The old informal Kurtis. Sometimes he wondered if Kurtis joined the army out of his naivity just to be with him. Still grinning, he headed off. 

Homstar's personal shuttle was a Rabion16 which were greatly renowned and respected throughout the system. Along with his sword, it was one of the few things that Homstar considered his own. He and Kurtis had put their money together to buy it back before they were drafted in the army. They had tweaked it and added parts to it as the years went by. It became Homstar's pride and joy, and still was.

It was a wonderful ship, with a plush interior and excelent lighting, but that was not his favorite thing about it. Before the battle with the Yeti, before the assignment had even been given to Homstar, he had requested the shuttle brought to his division on his current ship, the "Adamantor."

A day after it arrived, the assignment to kill the Yeti leader on Rano was given to division one and two. Those two divisions were the divsions of Kurtis and Homstar. Kurtis had been overjoyed to see the little ship. He had then installed Tamori light fighter engines that he had designed himself. These new engines provided remarkable differences in speed and manuverability, as oposed to the Rothmar engines it had originally been given. But, the best thing about these engines, as far as Homstar was concerned, was that they were a constant reminder of the his friend and the good old times that he used to have with him. 

Now Homstar boarded his shuttle as he had done so many times before. Since they were still a fair distance from the Core Planet, and the Mian Command had not yet issued the order for all personell to report to their stations, he thought he might take a little cruise. He walked leisurely up the ramp and proceeded past the few passenger seats to the coc-pit. Setting himself in the pilot's seat, he performed the operation to ignite the engines. He then, clutching the stick, began to slowly guide the shuttle out of the open hatchway leading into space. He was about halfway out of the hangar when the familiar toneless computer's voice came through on his built in speaker, "We have arrived at Courusnath. All personell report to your stations and await the arrival of your transports. We have arrived at Courusnath..." Homstar sighed in disbelief. How could he have lost track of time so easily? He mentally kicked himself for doing so. Now he would have to dock his ship, then proceed twenty levels up to the Main Hangar, and then wait for his transp...wait...yes, why not? Why not fly his shuttle to the planet? He was already half way out of these hangar bay doors. Yes. Besides, how inspiring it would be for the people of the Core world to see a Rabion16 land next to the Main Ship. He commed Main Command to inform them of his plan.

"Wow! Look at that, Jimmy! It looks like a Rabion16! Hey, mom! I want that ship when I grow up!"   
"He must be really rich that guy, to get that kinda ship."   
These were the kind of remarks that Homstar heard from the people as they passed his ship on the way to the ceremony. He smiled. He had a feeling they would be inspired by it.  
I had better get to there too, thought Homstar. Wouldn't want to miss my own awarding ceremony.   
He walked down the street, following the crowd until he came to the familiar archway over the street that said, "To the Army ceremony dome." Moving faster now, afraid that the ceremony had already started, he walked quickly around some chatting men and continued down the path that led to the dome.  
After 10 minutes of walking, he finally found it. I was made of white marble stone, that glistened in the sunlight. It took a little longer for him to actually get into the dome because the crowd was so thick, but once he was in, he headed straight for the honor podium. Already seated next to the stage were Supreme General of the Courusnath Army, Satch Mantill, and of course Kurtis. Homstar smiled as he took his own seat next to him. Kurtis eyed him jokingly. "You look like you've been running through a mine field," he whispered. Homstar cast him a meaningful glance in answer. The crowd quieted, and the ceremony began.

Admiral Mantill stood up and walked calmy and quietly to the podium. The crowd hushed yet quieter as he took his place and set the microphone to his hight. "Fellow citizens." He said in his usual commanding voice. "We have been called here today to celebrate the proud knowledge that we have two of the very best men in the system, right here sitting before us." "Since that day at the..." At that moment Homstar was barely listening to the Admiral's complementing words. He was remembering that day. The day that the Admiral was talking about. He remembered... how he had saved Kurtis's life, how he had come up with the winning strategy against those monsters. He remebered how he had felt...Homstar's eyes went wide as he remembered. The white material travelling up his arm. 

Homstar looked down at his right hand frantically, trying to think of what it was. His hand was fine. He breathed a sigh of relief. He felt it with the other hand. It was slightly colder than usual, but that was probably due to the lack of use. Yes, lack of blood flow, that was it. He looked back up, and realized that Kurtis was up giving a speech. He looked back down at his hand. He kicked himself mentally...why did he have to be so panicky about what the temperature in his hand is right now?

He looked up, the crowd was clapping and cheering. Kurtis was stepping down from the podium. He had finnished his speech. The Admiral stepped us once again and began speaking. Why was everything going so fast to him? The Admiral was already calling him forward. He stared at the Admiral for a moment, who return a curious gaze. "Homstar Tetra, would you step up please?" Homstar finally regained his composure. He stood shakilly, and headed a few steps toward the podium. The crowd was clapping. He finaly reached the podium, and suddenly with strength he'd never felt before in his legs, stepped up the step to the stage. He began to speak, "I thank..." He stopped short. He could no longer feel his arm.


	6. Chapter 5

"I...I thank..." He couldn't speak. He could barely move. He grabbed his right hand with his left. The people began to whisper and started nervously mumbling to one another. Homstar was deathly white. His hand was trembling. He desperately tried to control the trembling by clutching his hand so hard that the hand that was sqeezing started to hurt. Frost began to appear at his finger tips. This was noticed by some people in the crowd, and they stood up, some knocking over their chairs as they did so. The talking began to get louder, and louder as Homstar's hand began to get whiter and whiter. Everything else happened so fast that Homstar barely realized it was happenning. 

Homstar looked at the horrified faces in the crowd as his hand errupted a cascade of white and glassy silver. He couldn't control it. Bright light shot from the stream coming forth from his hand. It was as if his hand had a mind of it's own. As if by reflex rather than thought, he reached deep within himself and mentally found the source of the ice. "Ah!" He cried as he gained control over it, and restrained the cascade. His hand suddenly and obediantly returned to its normal state and temperature. He looked at the horrified people, and realized with horror of his own that the once peaceful dome had turned into a place of chaos. People were running and screaming all over. The only people that weren't yelling and running were those lying on the floor. "No," he wispered with terror in his voice, as he noticed that they had a sheet of ice over their bodies. "NO!" He screamed and jumped with surprising agility and strength off of the stage steps, and ran over to the bodies lying on the floor. His eyes went wide once again. He fell to his knees. One of the bodies was Kurtis's.


	7. Chapter 6

One looking at the tall man sitting perfectly still on the ice floor would have sworn that he or she saw a tear run down the man's face. However, if a tear had run down his face it would have immediately disappeared in an icy puff.

That memory had haunted this man for all the years that he had been on this planet. Not a day passed during these 250 years without him remembering and trying to think of a way that he could've prevented it. He remembered again that day, and regretted it yet another time...

Homstar was brought into the dark chamber in chains. His head was hanging down, and no emotion showed on his face. All he could think of was Kurtis's, his lifeless face contorted in a finall scream of terror. How could he have done that? Planet security had arrived in minutes. They had found Homstar kneeling over Kurtis's body hopelessly clinging to his friend. They had taken him away, and held him in prison for three days before deciding what to do with him. Finally the decision was made to take him to the Council of Ten.

That was where he was now, however he barely noticed that fact...much less cared. He didn't care about anything anymore. How could he have done that? He forced himself to find an answer. Suddenly, his thoughts were shattered by a deep voice. "Homstar Tetra." It was spoken softly, and seemed to have a measure of pity in it. He finally looked up. Slowly raising his head, he realized that he was surrounded by ten tall chairs, forming a complete circle around him. The words had be spoken by an old looking man with a full white beard that reached his chest. All the men looked old, but this man looked especially experianced and grey. He was dressed in a soft silver robe. He looked at Homstar with compassion and knowledge, and Homstar suddenly felt slightly comforted. He said nothing.  
"We shall make this short." The old man stated gently. "What you have done, some may consider to be a crime...a murder. The council has agreed that it is not. It could not have been restrained, and the incident was not in your power to be controled."  
"What am I...what did I do?" Homstar asked.  
"You have a gift, Homstar Tetra. A very speciall gift that is not given to everyone. You have certain abilities that are powerful, mysterious, and dangerous. The bodies have been examined. They have been coated with a sheet of ice that is the temperature of 1,000 degrees below zero. You have the power to create and deploy ice. You may not understand this, but you will learn to harness and control it over time."   
Homstar didn't know what they were talking about. Why were they taking this so casually? They had just discovered a man within their ranks in the Navy that had a power to create ice, and they acted like it happened every week. "Have you seen this before?" He asked with exasperation.  
The old man looked at a member on his right. They shared a questioning glance. The man looked back at Homstar. "You do not need to know everything that we know right now, but I will tell you this: Your case has been predicted, and we know how to deal with it. Do you have any other questions?" The question was not asked in a sarcastic or threatening way, but sincerely.  
Homstar hesitated. Did he? He didn't know. It seemed to him as if the whole world was a stranger to him now. His mind seemed now longer his own. "No."  
The council member nodded gravely at Homstar, and turned to his fellow member once again, who nodded as well. Once again the old man turned back to Homstar. "Most of your questions will be answered where we are about to send you. You will learn much about yourself. More than you ever knew. You are being sent to the planet Plutonar."  
Homstar gave a start. Plutonar. When he had been sent to Rano, one of Plutonar's moons, he had barely seen any civilizations. But Plutonar...it was a wasteland. A prisoner holding location. He had heard some serious rumors about it from fellow officers. "Plutonar, sir?"  
"Yes, Plutonar." The man replied in his slow talk. "I understand how you must feel right now. I know that you are frightened, confused, and you are still grieving for you friend. But a time has come where none of us can afford to be frightened. The council has forseen a great shadow coming to the system, and we must be on our gaurd. You will learn to harness your powers and hone your skills. By dong this, you will be preparing yourself for a great battle ahead. You will be your planet's defender. You will guard it so that when the enemy comes, he cannot use it as a place of operations. That is your sole perpose from here on."  
As Homstar watched, the council member stepped gingerly out of his chair, and walked with a surprisingly smooth pace towards him. He stood in front of him, and ordered the guards to relieve him of his chains, and leave them. They did so and left the room, the door hissing shut behind them.  
The old man reached in to his robe, and something out. He took hold of Homstar's hand and placed the long object in it. Once this was done, he took a few steps back. "This is your new weapon, only given to those who are proven worthy. Those who are chosen. Only you can wield it." He then stood quiet and waited.  
Homstar looked at the surprisingly light weapon, and found that it was in the shape of a sword. Its blade was sheathed in a white sheath which glistened even though there was barely any light in the room. The only visible part of the sword other than the sheath, was the handle. It was a cylindrical shaped handle, about 15 centimeters long and had a silver look. It was slightly curved down on the bottom to make a graceful finnish of it. It seemed to have smooth carvings in it, and though it looked metal, it was not. Homstar had never seen or felt such a material. It was not technological, it seemed to be simply an extension to something. It looked as if it would fit perfectly in his hand. Homstar was curious to see was the blade looked like. If he had taken the handle and held the sword pointing downward, the tip of the sheath would have touched the floor. He took hold of the handle cautiously almost hesitantly, and holding the sheath in one hand, and the handle in the other, drew the blade. Homstar frowned. There was nothing there. No blade where it should've been. He looked up at the old man standing a few steps in front of him as if to find an answer. All the old man said was, "Only your power can wield it."  
Homstar looked at the silver handle, then back at the Council Memebers. Then he understood. He concentrated hard on the sword, at the same time, he naturaly found the core of his being and woke it. Something sprang to life within him. It was as if it had been waiting all this time...all these years to be let free. The sword became a blaze of light, filling the chamber with its glory. Homstar looked away instinctively. When he looked back, a blade that appeared to be ice like had formed in his hand. It looked as if it could melt, freeze, and cut all at the same time. Homstar looked closer. It was not made of ice. Somehow he knew that it was made of his sheer power all concentrated in one area. It was a blaze of light and white color eminated from it gently surrounding the blade, which was barely wider than Homstar's thumb.  
The Council Members smiled. The old man standing said, "There is a long journey ahead of you, Homstar Tetra. And it has only just begun."  
Homstar's expression became determined, and he looked the man squarely in the eyes. "I am ready."

In the ice cave Homstar, who is now 250 years old, waits for the call of the Council. Waits for his time to come...  
He still seems to be concentrating. He furrows his brow suddenly as if searching for something in his mind...a connect to something. Silence. He is remains still, yet his brow relaxes once again. He found it. From deep within himself he located something very familiar to him now. He hears a voice..."You will learn to harness your power..." The corners of his mouth barely retract to smile ever so slightly. His head comes up. His silvery eyes fly open. And, in an eye blink, all the stones around him turn to ice...and shatter!


	8. Chapter 7

The next planet in which we will talk about is Zion, land of the Storm. It is mostly a simple, plain planet with a few metropolis cities and some patches of tropical rainforest. The people that live on this planet are mostly people that have come to the planet in search of work opportunities. However, the natives on this planet live mostly in the rain forest and jungle section of the world. They rarely make trips to the cities, depending only on themselves and their surroundings for the necessities of life.  
It rains a lot on this planet, and acid rain has been known to occur occasionally. The sunset is beautiful and the stars always glisten at night with a extra special sparkle. It is a wonderful planet but holds many secrets.  
The things that are most special about this planet are its natural resources. The planet is a natural provider of quathsnir. Quathsnir is a mineral type substance that is used to create steelanth. This substance is highly prized throughout the galaxy, and is sold for high prices. Many plants on the planted are dedicated to mining this quathsnir mineral, and for this reason, mining jobs are make up 80 of the jobs on the entire planet. Even now, on the surface of the planet there lives a peculiar family, housing a peculiar boy...whose father is the overseer of a certain central plant...

A large, fork like lift carried a group of engineers up into the main docking bay of the power plant. The platform already held some people - a young boy stood with his father anxiously waiting to get a glimpse of all the large mechanical devices. The boy shuffled on his feet resulting in a look from his father. The son smiled up at his father, and he turned away. Looking around, all the boy could see were large power plants generating electricity to help mine the precious minerals on the planet. The plants were of weird alien type shape to the boy, for he had never seen them before. This happened to be the first time the boy's father had taken him to his working place. He had always asked his father to, but had been politely refused every time. However, his father had agreed this time, for reasons that the boy didn't know.  
"Son," the boy's father was talking to him. "I need to go for a minute, Joxe needs me for a conversion."  
"What should I do, Father?" The boy asked his dad intently.  
The boy's father bent down patiently to his son, so that he could be eye level with him. "Just stay here." He pointed a single finger at his son to emphasize his words. "Do not go any where else, do you understand?"  
The boy smiled at his father and nodded his head. His father smiled back and gently ruffled his hair with his hand.  
The young child watched as his father walked away toward one of his workers. As the boy turned around, he had a sudden urge to cough. The air smelled funny to the young kid because of gases that had been fused together and were now being circulated into the air. Workers were already used to it and it had no effect on them. They continued to work, oblivious. However, the boy wasn't so accustomed. He wondered as he coughed. Looking around the noisy machine yard, he could feel that he was new here. He could feel in his very being that he had never been here before, yet...here, he felt at home.

The young boy sat cross-legged in silence for a while as the workers rushed around him to their respective jobs. They didn't even seem to realize he was there. The boy guessed it was a good thing...after all, he didn't want to distract them from their work. He reached to the ground and lifted a small stone off of the floor of the platform. It was smooth and cold; he folded his tiny fingers around the stone. For some reason, the rock felt reassuring to him. This place was certainly weird. First, he feels at home at an electrical plant, and now he was being reassured by a rock! The boy sighed and contented himself with holding the rock and watching the workers. In silence, he waited for his father to come back.

Hillan Koral talked briefly with Joxe, his right hand man. There was going to be an immediate conversion in Sector 8 of fuels and electricity. The resulting product would then be sent to the mining corporation concerning the quathsnir mining of this area. As overseer of the plant, he would have to be present at the conversion process.  
"Why have I learned of this just now?" Koral asked Joxe fairly angrily. "I should've been prepped of this weeks in advance!"   
"Sir, it's like I said: We just got a call from Gorde Corp, asking for more mining substance. They're filling a special order for the military involving the quathsnir mineral, and they need the substance today." Joxe answered him. He was a thin man, but surprisingly strong for his size. He had black, short cropped hair, and a pale face with a pinched expression making him always look worried. His face was currently pinched more than normal.  
Hillard clamed himself slightly with quick sigh. He looked toward his right hand man, and lowered his voice again angrily. "What am I going to do with my son? Hmm?" He asked expectedly, indicating out a window in the building he was in. "I brought him with me today because I was expecting to have a short day. Now, I have to tell him that our day together has to be cut short because of an ill timed, ill planned conversion operation?"  
Joxe looked startled, and took a step back with his hands raised in a surrendering posture. "Hey, I didn't make the rules, and I didn't make the call! Don't yell at me for something the Gorde Corporation did."  
Koral made a passing gesture. "Alright, Alright. Let's just get this over with, so I can have some time with my only son." He bent down to a console with flashing buttons, and pressed the intercom. "All units report to sector eight for immediate conversion of fuels, code 8 5 Star 1."

The silent boy looked up startled, as his father's voice boomed out of ever speaker in the area, telling all units to report somewhere to do something that he didn't understand. He stood up and hesitated with the idea of going and looking for his father, and asking him what to do now. His father had told him to stay there. But...things had changed. He walked off toward where the crowd of workers was heading. They must be going toward his father...

"I'm going out to look for my son." Koral told Joxe after they had started the fusion proccess.  
"Sir, that's against protocol and you know it." Joxe argued even though he knew it would do no good.  
Koral whipped around toward Joxe. "I am going to look for my son because when protocol was written for this plant, people weren't thinking about the overseer bringing his son on what happened to be the same day where some idiot at a mining corp. made a call asking for mining substance on a 'special order.'" Koral turned in a huff and walked out of the doorway to his overseeing office. Taking the elevator down to the loading platform where he had left his son. Hillard exited the elevator, and turned around a corner...he stopped abruptly. The platform was deserted and empty. His son was nowhere to be found. Hillard thought furiously, while panicking. If his child wasn't here, then he must've gone with the worker to...sector 8. He didn't have a protection suit. Hillard stopped thinking and ran frantically back to the elevator.

The boy stepped out onto the platform area for sector 8 along with all the other workers, he traveled around what seemed to be numberless corridors and cat-walks until finally the crowd stopped. The boy was suddenly left alone as the workers sped to their assigned places. He stood again in the center of all the action wondering where his father could be. The lost child looked left and right. To his left was a huge pit in which there were more big machines. They were really loud now. Louder than they were before, and as the boy looked, he saw that one of the machines was pumping some sort of a clear liquid, and filling another machine with it. The big machine stopped pumping the liquid and an even louder noise began erupting from the smaller one. It looked like it was mixing something...  
The boy loved and was fascinated by the machines. He could've spent all day watching them, but he remembered he was looking for his father. The child looked up and around. Finally as his head had turned all the way to the right, he noticed a huge glass window mounted on the upper curvature of the wall, and inside it, he saw his father.  
"Dad!" The boy yelled with delight, but his smile retracted as he cried a second and third time for his father, and his father continued to look around frantically as if he couldn't hear him.

Hillard Koral was panicking. He had run from the loading platform back to sector 8, and upon failing to locate his son among the crowd of workers, he had run all the way back up to his overseer's office. Now he stared out the glass window that overlooked conversion operation, and tried futilely to find his boy. There were too many wokers crowding around. Hillard slammed his fist on the console in frustration and desperation. He could barely hear his right hand man as Joxe said began to talk to him.  
"Hillard, something's wrong. The sensors are picking up a mass overload of electricity." Joxe waited for Koral to answer him, then, upon receiving no such answer, he reached out and forcefully shook his friend. "Hillard, I know this is hard! I know you want to find your son, but something's happening!"  
Hillard stared blankly at Joxe for a moment, then his eyes became suddenly alert as normal cautiousness returned to him. "What's going on, Joxe? What's wrong?"  
Joxe released his hold on Hillard's shoulders, returned to his console. "There is a massive energy and electricity reading coming from the fueling sensors."  
"But the electricity input is not supposed to occur until the fuel has been deposited."  
"I know! That's what I'm trying to tell you! Something's out of place, something's wrong!" Joxe said more forcefully, as if he could drive his fears into the other man's head by shouting.  
"Re-check the sensors." Hillard commanded as plucked his personal comlink from his belt. As Joxe complied with his order, Hillard commed the director of the operation down below.  
A husky voice came over the line. "What is it?"   
"Joran, I need you to check the sensor phases and make sure they are in working order." HIllard told him.  
"But, Sir, the fusion process has already begun-"  
"Perfrom an emergency check if you need to! I want those sensors checked!" HIllard yelled in exasperation.  
Over the line, there was a sigh. "Yes Sir, I'll look into it." There was a pause. "Also, Sir, there is a boy here. He's causing distraction from my workers. Can you deal with-"  
"A boy! Where?" Hillard grasped the comlink with both hands.  
"One of the workers noticed him at the edge of the fusion pit-"  
Hillard cut off the line and sprinted to the window. He searched the crowd quickly, and then saw a little child waving wildly to get his attention. Hillard yelled with joy, and waved back to his son. The boy stopped waving and smiled broadly at is father.  
"Koral, if the sensors are correct..." Joxe said, quietly his face racked with urgency. "...A meltdown is occurring."


	9. Chapter 8

The entire fusion pit was a mess of machine parts and incinerated metal. A fuison pit that was created for the purpose of providing mining substance to corporations that would help the military to save lives had become a place of carnage in one instant. Standing in the exact center of the pit that was now a burnt, scorched crater, were two men in environmental suits. One stood holding a folded piece of equipment watching the other who crouched below him. The other man was intently studying what seemed to be the body of a child. Extremely out of place in the middle of chaos and destruction, the child was untouched in every way. His face showed incomprehensible peace. "Remarkable!" The crouching man whispered in awe. "I've never...hey, Manny, can you hear me over comm?"  
"Yeah, I can hear you. What so remarkable?...He's...He's not alive is he?" Manny replied.   
"Yeah, Manny, he's alive...I've never in all my years seen anything like it. The kid was involved in a massive fusion explosion. There's no way he could survive this. What was he doing here anyway?   
"I don't know! Don't look at me as if I got all the answers, Jory!"  
Jory sighed in exasperation at his collegue. "Goodness sake, Manny, you're so moody. Just get him on the stretcher."

Electron volts...volts and volts...they course through...they power, give energy...pure energy, living...still coursing...fueling me...giving strength...a flash of white and blue and yellow...all in the mix of heat and color...something bursting out of it's temporary cage...it lives in me...fueling, giving power...it's fast...too fast...something breaking from my hold...something...something is finally free.

Netran Koral's heart was till beating. Doctor Reamese stood over him in silence, watching his pulse monitor, still amazed. It was incomprehensible. No one...absolutely no one could survive that. The kid had been part of a huge fusion mining substance explosion. Most in an area of 25 miles would've been incinerated with a blast as big as it was then. But this boy...this Netran Koral was not even injured. He was...perfectly fine, as far as the doctor could tell. The only thing that was bothering him was his pulse rate. It was exceptionally slow. The doctor glanced at Netran's face for a moment, then looked back at the monitor. It was slow and slowing further by the second. He didn't understand it. Even with this pulse, the boy's brain functions had been perfectly functioning as far as the doctors instruments and equipment could tell. He should've been up, walking, running and talking with the kind of brain signals his body was supposed to be receiving. But even as the nurses attempted to wake him up in every manner they were aware of, his pulse rate had slowed. And slowed. The doctor watched in horror, as the pulse slowed to almost nothing...he couldn't do anything about it. It slowed...and slowed...and then it was gone.


End file.
